Two Hearts of One Mind
by scriviner
Summary: Just a day in the life of Shinji, Asuka and Rei... sort of. This is an old fic of mine, buffed up and freshly re-edited. This slots into Eva continuity somewhere between eps. 14 and 15.


The original Disclaimer:  
  
Okay folks. This is a really odd one for me. I'd just   
  
finished a marathon session of Neon Genesis Evangelion (Vol   
  
1-5, & 7) and I felt like I really needed to write a fic   
  
about this series because it's so GREAT!   
  
So for some odd reason, I ended up writing something   
  
where I tried to keep within the boundaries of the original   
  
series. Which is really unusual for me because my work is   
  
largely composed of fusions, alternate universes and   
  
crossovers all series. Of course, I think I've gone pretty   
  
off tangent by around the end, but I hope people can tell   
  
me what they think.   
  
This occurs between episodes 14 and 15.  
  
C&C can be public or private (scriviner@yahoo.com)   
  
any of it would be appreciated.  
  
The new and improved disclaimer:  
  
Well, after all this time, I figured I'd give this a once-  
  
over and repost it online. This is version 3 now of this   
  
fic. Which to my surprise, I apparently haven't done   
  
anything to since 1997. Anyway, I've started getting back   
  
into writing fics, so I hope you enjoy.   
  
Two Hearts of One Mind.  
  
A Neon Genesis Evangelion fanfic by the Scriviner   
  
Piloting an Eva, a multi-ton, several story high,   
  
semi-biological mecha designed for killing angels (which it   
  
must be noted are nothing at all like the winged humanoid   
  
figures one expects from the New Testament, but more like   
  
the Old Testament angels, swift and terrible), would be a   
  
very dangerous job for anyone, especially so for fourteen-  
  
year-olds kids, who were the only ones who could mentally   
  
interface with the Evas to control them in the first place.   
  
It's hardly surprising that the pilots get injured as a   
  
matter of course. This can range anywhere from getting   
  
slightly banged up when the Eva gets knocked into a wall,   
  
all the way up to the potential for some serious brain   
  
death if the pilot's mind gets fried by the feedback from   
  
the Eva's nerve linkages. And that's just during training.   
  
Actual combat was far worse.  
  
These, however, were not the thoughts going through   
  
Shinji Ikari's head at the moment. He was mostly annoyed at   
  
the dull ringing in aforementioned head and wondering why   
  
the painkillers they'd issued him hadn't taken effect yet.   
  
It wasn't anything really serious... it was more   
  
embarrassing than anything else. He hadn't paid too much   
  
attention when he stepped out of the entry plug and had   
  
managed to trip, incidentally fetching him a good hard   
  
smack upside the head. That wouldn't really have been all   
  
that bad, since it was several hours ago and most of the   
  
pain had faded, but that wasn't the worst part of it.  
  
It was his fellow Eva pilot, sometime combat backup   
  
and flatmate (though not by choice), Asuka Langley Soryu,   
  
who was driving him nuts. The two of them were sprawled on   
  
the two couches in almost identical positions watching TV.   
  
Asuka, however, had only stopped laughing about how stupid   
  
he'd been and how she'd never have made such a dumb   
  
mistake, to take the occasional breath.   
  
It had long since passed the point where it was merely   
  
annoying to where it was now. It was really, really, REALLY   
  
annoying. Then again, she was probably doing it to annoy   
  
him in the first place. Trouble was it was working. On the   
  
upshot, she was too busy snickering to pay attention to   
  
what was on the TV, so Shinji was watching the program of   
  
his choice.  
  
Both of them were fairly slender fourteen year-olds.   
  
Shinji's face was entirely too serious for someone his age   
  
and he had a thoughtful, quiet air about him. Asuka, on the   
  
other hand, was already starting to fill out and was   
  
showing definite signs of becoming devastatingly gorgeous   
  
when the time came. Her entire attitude gave the impression   
  
that as far as she was concerned, the whole world was a   
  
stage and she was the female lead. It's not surprising that   
  
the phrase 'best of terms' could hardly be applied to them,   
  
unless preceded by the words 'not on the'.  
  
Shinji kept his attention focused on the TV, using it   
  
mostly to help him tune Asuka out. He raised his remote to   
  
change the channel just as Asuka raised her own remote. The   
  
screen flickered briefly between a history documentary and   
  
a soap opera then back. Shinji didn't have the energy to   
  
even turn to glare at her- she however obviously did.  
  
"Hey! Are you even listening to me?" she asked,   
  
exasperated at Shinji's utter lack of reaction.  
  
Three hours straight of insults and laughing were   
  
more than enough to wear away at his considerable reserves   
  
of patience. The headache wasn't helping much, either.   
  
Shinji didn't even turn to look at her, but replied in a   
  
bored tone, "Sorry, I wasn't." He cringed slightly, at the   
  
expression on her face, but he had a moment of... something   
  
and before he could stop himself added, "I just didn't have   
  
the heart to tell you to stop. You seemed like you were   
  
enjoying listening to yourself."   
  
"You lousy idiot!" Asuka fumed, changing the channel   
  
back to her soap, "I don't know why they bother keeping   
  
your around!"  
  
"The feeling's mutual!" he shot back, almost   
  
automatically, bringing the documentary back on the screen.  
  
"Do you mind?! I'm trying to watch!" Asuka yelled at   
  
him, switching back to the soap opera. For some reason she   
  
couldn't put her finger on, he was being particularly   
  
annoying today.  
  
"So am I!" He flicked the channel change button on   
  
his remote at the exact moment Asuka flicked her own. The   
  
result was a cooking show with a man with a fake moustache   
  
and a fake Italian accent showing people what to do with   
  
synthetic meatballs and instant sauce.  
  
"That reminds me-," Both said at the same time. They   
  
glared at each other for a moment.  
  
Asuka continued, "Where is Misato anyway? It's her   
  
turn to cook dinner. Not that I'm really looking forward to   
  
it," she added in a low mutter.  
  
Major Misato Kitsuragi was Asuka and Shinji's token   
  
'adult-in-charge', who paid the rent and also lived in that   
  
apartment. She was Director of Operations for NERV, the   
  
organization that created, owned and maintained the Evas.   
  
NERV, through judicious political maneuvering was in fact   
  
largely in charge of the war against the Angels, despite   
  
the UN's preferences.  
  
By the mere fact that Misato had managed to attain   
  
her position, she hadproof enough that she was a very   
  
competent and intelligent woman. Publicly at least- at home   
  
she had beer for breakfast, was an absolute slob and lived   
  
off of beer, instant food and takeout more often than not.   
  
As a result, both Shinji and Asuka suffered because of it.   
  
Someone who belches loudly, drinks beer as if it were water   
  
and scratches herself during dinner was not exactly an   
  
ideal companion, but it beat eating alone.  
  
Shinji shrugged and turned to look at his watch, an   
  
expression of concern on his face. "She usually calls if   
  
she's going to be this late... maybe I ought to call her   
  
office..."  
  
Asuka sniffed at him from across the living room.   
  
"Dummy. They haven't restored phone service to our   
  
celphones or this district since last week's battle."  
  
Shinji frowned at her. She always knew the right   
  
thing to say to annoy him. "There's no need to be so rude   
  
about it," he replied, raising his voice a little.  
  
Asuka merely glared at him disapprovingly. Shinji   
  
glared back for a moment, but he didn't really have the   
  
energy for it. He collapsed back onto the couch and   
  
muttered, "She's probably got some extra work to do."  
  
"You don't suppose there's another angel attack?"   
  
Asuka asked, her voice oddly enthusiastic.   
  
She wants another chance to show off what a hot-shot pilot   
  
she is, Shinji thought with a sigh. "I think we'd have heard   
  
the alert already." Shinji replied.  
  
Asuka sighed. "Well, I'm starving. I don't think I   
  
can wait for her much longer. I think there's still two TV   
  
dinners in the back of the freezer." Her expression became   
  
thoughtful, "Actually, I think that's all we've got   
  
left..."  
  
"Are you sure they're not the ones that Misato stuck   
  
in there?" Shinji asked tentatively.  
  
"The ones from three weeks ago?" Asuka asked, pulling   
  
a face. "No I don't think so. These ones are still in their   
  
wrappers."  
  
"Oh. Good." Shinji replied, a look of distaste on his   
  
face. "Well, they've got to be better than the stuff Misato   
  
tried to feed us the other night."  
  
His companion grimaced openly. "Her pseudo-spaghetti?   
  
The instant beef stew she added tomato paste and wasabe   
  
flavored potato chips to before she spread it on the   
  
instant soba noddles? Yuk... Even Pen-Pen wouldn't eat it."  
  
Shinji smiled slightly. Pen-Pen was their fellow   
  
flatmate, even if he slept in the fridge, at least he   
  
picked up after himself. He was a hot spring penguin whom   
  
Misato had acquired through circumstances that had never   
  
been made absolutely clear to either of them. While Pen-Pen   
  
had developed a cast iron stomach from all of Misato's   
  
various culinary disasters, even he had his limits.   
  
"I can't understand how she manages to make instant   
  
food taste bad. It's incredible," Asuka continued. Her   
  
stomach gave a warning grumble causing her to wince. "I am   
  
starving..."  
  
"Uh huh." Shinji replied absently, and without too   
  
much sympathy. He turned his attention back to the TV.  
  
"So what are you waiting for Shinji?" Asuka demanded,   
  
"Why don't you go pop those dinners in the microwave?"  
  
"Me?" Shinji frowned, turning to face Asuka, "You're   
  
closer to the kitchen."  
  
"By all of five feet!" Asuka shot back, "I'm too weak   
  
from hunger to move..." She groaned dramatically.  
  
"You're the one who's so hungry." Shinji pointed out.   
  
Almost as if on cue, his own stomach gave a rumble.  
  
Asuka laughed and pointed at Shinji's midsection,   
  
"Looks like I'm not the only one!"  
  
Shinji sighed and got up off the couch, "Fine. I'm   
  
getting my dinner."  
  
"Make sure you keep mine in for an extra fifteen   
  
seconds! I want to make sure it gets heated through!" Asuka   
  
called after him as he passed through the doorway.  
  
"Who said anything about your dinner? I'm just   
  
getting mine." Shinji muttered as he walked away. He was   
  
still annoyed at her.   
  
"Why you..!" Asuka cried, hurling a throw pillow at   
  
him as he ducked into the hallway. Asuka held out for all   
  
of thirty seconds before the various warning noises her   
  
digestive system was giving her spurred her out of her   
  
comfortable sprawl.  
  
  
  
The two of them were in the process of chipping away   
  
at the ice in the freezer which held their TV dinners. Pen   
  
Pen looked at the two of them curiously. He was just   
  
waiting for his two human roommates to get HIS dinner ready   
  
so he could take a nap, when the doorbell rang.  
  
"I'll get it." Shinji said wiping some sweat away   
  
from his forehead.   
  
Asuka glared at him for a moment as though he were   
  
using the doorbell as an excuse to slack off, then went   
  
back to work on the ice with the knife.  
  
He opened the door and found, to his surprise, Rei   
  
standing outside with a neutral expression on her face. Rei   
  
was the first of the Eva pilots that NERV found... or   
  
perhaps not. The situation was terribly complicated. To put   
  
it bluntly, Rei, in most people's opinions was a decidedly   
  
strange girl. There was something strangely intense and, at   
  
the same time, resigned about her, which made her very   
  
difficult to approach. Shinji knew it well.  
  
She had an overnight bag on one shoulder. He wasn't   
  
all too surprised that she was still wearing her school   
  
uniform. He'd never seen her in anything but that outside   
  
of the base or PE class.  
  
"Um... Ayanami, this is a surprise."  
  
Rei glanced down for a moment, noting the knife which   
  
Shinji still held in hand without expression before saying   
  
in a soft monotone, "Major Katsuragi said something came up   
  
at the office. She won't be home until early tomorrow   
  
morning. I've been ordered to keep you and Soryu company."  
  
That was another surprise. Shinji stepped away from   
  
the door and made a vague gesture to come in, "Oh. Um...   
  
sure."  
  
Rei stepped into the house without acknowledging him   
  
further. Shinji watched her walk past him, wondering why   
  
Misato told her to stay with them tonight... his mind   
  
wandered a bit on that topic, before he realized he was   
  
gawking at Rei who was now looking back at him.  
  
"Better close the door." She told him.  
  
"Er... right..." Shinji replied, embarrassed at   
  
having been caught staring.  
  
"Ah-HAH!" Asuka's voice cried out happily from the   
  
kitchen. "I got em free, Shinji! Dinner in a minute or so!"  
  
"Have you eaten yet, Rei?" Shinji asked tentatively.   
  
She was still staring at him and he growing very   
  
uncomfortable.  
  
"No." Rei said softly.  
  
Shinji's reply was lost as Asuka burst in. "So who   
  
was it?" Asuka inquired. She caught sight of Rei, who   
  
seemed to be watching a mildly squirming Shinji. She   
  
rolled her eyes and sighed. Boys, constantly thinking   
  
with their hormones.  
  
"Oh. It's you." Asuka didn't sound too enthusiastic.  
  
Rei told her almost exactly the same message she gave   
  
Shinji, in the same monotone, "Major Katsuragi said   
  
something came up at the office. She won't be home until   
  
tomorrow at noon. I've been ordered to keep you and Ikari   
  
company."  
  
Asuka sniffed and raised an eyebrow. "Oh... I guess   
  
Misato doesn't trust Shinji anymore after what happened the   
  
last time we got left alone together so she sent a   
  
chaperone!"  
  
Shinji blushed and frowned at Asuka, "Nothing   
  
happened!"  
  
"You still tried to kiss me, you lech!" Asuka shot   
  
back.  
  
"I am not a lech!"  
  
"Yes you are!"  
  
Shinji gave a disgusted snort, dropping the knife on   
  
the counter next to the door. He blushed even more   
  
furiously as he stalked off to the kitchen.  
  
"Where do you think you're going, pervert?" Asuka   
  
demanded. "The food's not ready yet!"   
  
"I'm heating up some water for instant ramen."  
  
Shinji replied. "Give the other TV dinner to Rei."   
  
Asuka jerked a thumb at the impassive Rei, as she   
  
called back. "Miss Picky here doesn't eat meat! Those're   
  
Salisbury steak TV dinners!"  
  
"It's not like there's any real meat in those   
  
things." Shinji shrugged.  
  
Rei merely watched Shinji leave.  
  
Asuka turned to look at Rei, whose expression hadn't   
  
changed during the entire exchange. Asuka's mouth   
  
quirked. she'd had her suspicions regarding Shinji and   
  
Rei for a while now: she was pretty sure the Shinji had a   
  
thing for Rei. It was hard for someone as empathic as an   
  
Eva pilot to live with someone and NOT pick up a little on   
  
what they thought about. Rei hadn't shown any sort of   
  
interest in Shinji, but she was always like that... her   
  
train of thought got derailed suddenly.  
  
"Why did you call him a pervert?" Rei asked, her tone   
  
still soft and expressionless save for a mild puzzlement.  
  
"Well, Duh!" Asuka replied, "Weren't you listening?   
  
He tried to kiss me!"  
  
"So?" Rei persisted.  
  
"SO?! What do you mean 'so'?! Who knows what else he   
  
would've done to me in my sleep if he'd succeeded in   
  
kissing me?!!" Asuka gesticulated wildly.  
  
Rei replied, "I'm sure he would know," as she   
  
followed Shinji to the kitchen.  
  
"Oooooh!" Asuka groaned angrily. Rei was simply   
  
impossible to talk to. Sometimes she thought that Rei and   
  
Shinji were conspiring against her- after all, they knew   
  
that SHE was better then both of them combined. She gave   
  
herself a little grin, satisfied that the explanation for   
  
their rude behavior was simply jealousy and followed her   
  
fellow pilots to have dinner.  
  
"Well..." Asuka said as she sprawled on the couch   
  
again, dinner being happily digested, "That wasn't too   
  
bad..."   
  
Shinji lounged on the other couch, also somewhat   
  
full, "I guess."  
  
Rei sat primly on the easy chair and didn't say   
  
anything. The food they'd given her had not only tasted   
  
like cardboard, it had looked a bit like it too, so she'd   
  
mostly given the hamburger to Shinji and eaten around the   
  
peas and carrots. He had offered her some of the ramen,   
  
which promptly set Asuka off on some inspired teasing about   
  
the two of them sharing food. Shinji blushed, but Rei   
  
seemed to make a point of ignoring her.  
  
Rei kept her eyes on the TV show the three of them   
  
were watching. It was some sort of game show. It wasn't   
  
particularly good, but none of them particularly felt like   
  
changing the channel. All three sighed at the same time.  
  
"This is boring..." Asuka said after a few moments.  
  
"It's nearly over anyway..." Shinji replied.  
  
"I can't work up any enthusiasm over whether or not   
  
this guy manages to win the house or not. Why are we even   
  
watching this?" Asuka complained.  
  
"There's nothing better on."  
  
"That does it then, I'm sleeping." Asuka announced as   
  
she got up off the couch and stretched. Shinji glanced at   
  
her quickly without really thinking about it. She might be   
  
annoying, but he had to admit she was definitely pretty.  
  
"And don't get any ideas about sneaking into my room,   
  
Ikari!" Asuka added, waggling a finger in his general   
  
direction.   
  
Shinji rolled his eyes, still not completely over his   
  
earlier annoyance at her. "I wasn't planning on it." He   
  
made it sound as if wild horses couldn't drag him into that   
  
room.  
  
She turned her nose up at him and with a flip of her   
  
hair she was out the doorway.  
  
Shinji muttered to himself, "Sometimes I wish NERV   
  
never found her."  
  
Rei asked suddenly, still in her soft voice, "Would   
  
you rather it had been just the two of us?"  
  
He turned to face her, a little surprised not only at   
  
how the question was worded, but that Rei was showing signs   
  
of curiosity at all, and the fact that he hadn't intended   
  
for her to hear it. "Um... that's not quite what I meant I   
  
guess... I just wish they'd gotten someone more... I don't   
  
know... um... easy to get along with?"  
  
Shinji noted the subtle change in Rei. He was one of   
  
a very short list of people who'd spent any considerable   
  
amount of time with Rei and it was possible for him to read   
  
some of her moods, difficult though it was. Her eyes   
  
brightened slightly and the corners of her mouth almost   
  
curled up. She asked in her same quiet monotone, but Shinji   
  
thought he heard a hint of amusement, "Someone like me?"  
  
"Er..." Shinji had no reply for that. He stretched   
  
his arms up over his head for a moment at the precise   
  
moment that Rei did too, both of them stifling yawns. He   
  
felt the oddest sensation... it almost felt like the   
  
sensations he'd received when he was inside her Eva and   
  
trying to synchronize with it... the way it felt just   
  
before her Eva had gone berserk...   
  
That had been one of the less pleasant instances   
  
during the testing they'd had to endure as pilots... they   
  
tried to match their thought patterns to the other pilot's   
  
Eva as a precaution, in case one of them had to take the   
  
other's Eva. Oddly enough they called it the 'mutual   
  
compatibility' experiment. Rei had synchronized with almost   
  
no trouble at all with Shinji's Eva, with an unexpected   
  
side effect of opening some of Shinji's memories to her,   
  
through the Eva... Shinji, however, did not prove quite so   
  
lucky in Her Eva and ended up suffering a mental backlash   
  
which wiped out all impressions he'd gotten from her...  
  
"Well?" Rei persisted. Shinji's eyes widened   
  
somewhat. Rei's behavior was definitely starting to make   
  
him uneasy.  
  
Asuka ducked her head into the living room again...   
  
jolting Shinji out of whatever state he was in. She had   
  
changed into a long T-shirt and she was frowning   
  
suspiciously, "I don't believe my ears... are you two   
  
flirting?"  
  
"Hey! That's not it at all!" Shinji cried. Rei's   
  
expression neither confirmed nor denied.  
  
"Trust me, Ayanami... You're better off without this   
  
guy. He's probably just waiting for you to doze off so he   
  
can rip your clothes off or something..." Asuka said   
  
viciously.  
  
"Would you quit that, Asuka?!" Shinji yelled at her,   
  
blushing both at the embarrassment and the mental image   
  
that THAT had brought up.  
  
"Why would he do that?" Rei inquired quietly.  
  
Asuka rolled her eyes, "What planet are you from,   
  
Ayanami? So he can see your naked body! That's what all of   
  
these perverts think about all the time."  
  
Rei's expression had slipped back to neutral. "But   
  
he's already seen me without clothes on. Why should it   
  
matter if he sees it again?"  
  
Asuka's jaw dropped. Shinji's face reddened   
  
considerably. Asuka marched over to the couch, grabbing a   
  
throw pillow on her way with which she began to beat on   
  
Shinji's head. "You lecherous, perverted, filthy minded...   
  
BOY!"  
  
"OW! Hey, cut that out! Stop! It was an... OW!   
  
Accident! Argh!" Shinji held his hands up to try and ward   
  
Asuka off.  
  
"I don't believe it! You pervert!! Take this! And   
  
THIS!" She proceeded to brutally beat on his still ringing   
  
head with the throw pillow. "How dare you try to take   
  
advantage of a woman?! Even if it is Wondergirl!"  
  
Rei watched, mildly confused at it all. Interaction   
  
with other people and understanding them were never her   
  
strong suits, "What are you doing?"  
  
Asuka stopped long enough to give Rei a puzzled   
  
glance. "Wha? Doesn't it bother you that he looked at you   
  
while you were naked?!"  
  
Rei gave her head a very small shake, "No."  
  
Asuka's eyes grew wide as she passed her gaze from   
  
Rei to Shinji then back, "You don't mean to say that the   
  
two of you've been sleeping toge...?" She couldn't bring   
  
herself to complete the sentence... she couldn't really   
  
understand why... it wasn't even as if she was getting   
  
jealous at all... not that she'd admit it if she were.   
  
Which she wasn't... really... and if she said it to herself   
  
often enough she might believe it. It was the fact that   
  
Ayanami was taking it all so ridiculously calmly that Asuka   
  
felt she had to get mad on Ayanami's behalf... which made   
  
her feel twice as weird since she was now trying to stand   
  
up for a girl she disliked intensely...   
  
"That's not it either, Asuka..." Shinji grumbled from   
  
the couch, still blushing furiously, but now rubbing his   
  
head. His headache wasn't helping him think clearly, "It   
  
was an accident, really..."  
  
"It was not his fault he lost his balance and landed   
  
on me either." Rei volunteered quietly. Shinji acked as   
  
Asuka glared at him and reached for the remote control,   
  
holding it threateningly.  
  
"This was while you were naked?" Asuka asked, still   
  
very much confused, but quite ready to beat the daylights   
  
out of Shinji for it regardless.  
  
Shinji looked as if he wanted to crawl under a rock   
  
somewhere... he'd hoped that she wouldn't talk about the   
  
incident, but here she was actually telling Asuka! Asuka of   
  
all people! It was almost as if Rei was trying to cause   
  
trouble!  
  
Rei nodded, expression still totally neutral, but her   
  
eyes had fallen on Shinji again.  
  
Asuka whirled to face the cringing Shinji, "What the   
  
heck were you doing with Ayanami while she was naked?!"  
  
Shinji... pushed to the limit, snapped back, "What   
  
business is it of yours if I was naked with Ayanami?! Er...   
  
I mean... she was... er..." Unfortunately... anger and a   
  
nasty headache also have the tendency to make people slip   
  
their words up sometimes...  
  
Asuka's jaw dropped. Again. Her fury went from red   
  
hot to ice cold in a matter of moments. "Well... I don't   
  
care how you two are going to go around denying this." She   
  
threw the remote over her shoulder and looked down her nose   
  
at the two of them, "It's none of my business if you and   
  
she are going to do some perverse, disgusting and utterly   
  
immoral act. Why am I even bothering?"  
  
Rei was suspiciously silent.  
  
"But..." Shinji tried to explain... if any of this   
  
got back to Misato... or worse to his father. This would   
  
not be good...  
  
Asuka coolly walked out of the room, overdramatically   
  
muttering and posing, "Don't mind me... Get yourself in   
  
trouble why don't you..? What an idiot... what a pair of   
  
idiots... What a pair of weirdoes."  
  
Shinji's mouth worked uselessly as he tried to figure   
  
out what else to say... not that he had anything left to   
  
say, since his only company was Rei and the TV. Neither of   
  
which were noted for their conversational skills.  
  
Asuka ducked her head into the living room one last   
  
time and called out, "You two deserve each other!"  
  
Rei regarded her with a flat expression as Asuka   
  
stormed off to her room, "I'm going to sleep now." Rei said   
  
flatly as she walked from the easy chair to the couch,   
  
unbuttoning her shirt as she walked. She had her back to   
  
Shinji as she did it, and he was staring blankly at the TV.   
  
Her shirt was already totally unbuttoned when Shinji turned   
  
to face her.  
  
"Um... maybe you'd like to stay in my room instead?   
  
You can use the bed. I can stay on the couch." He paused   
  
for a moment as he realized that he was staring at the   
  
smooth expanse of skin across her belly... the fringes of   
  
her bra... he turned to one side quickly. She didn't seem   
  
to notice at all.  
  
Rei seemed to consider his question for a moment   
  
longer than necessary before replying, "Yes."  
  
Shinji kept his face turned away, "Um... w-w-why is   
  
your shirt unbuttoned?"  
  
Asuka's eyes widened. She'd been eavesdropping just   
  
in case the two of them started talking about her behind   
  
her back or something... but THIS was worse than she   
  
expected! She rolled up her sleeve preparing to rush in   
  
and... something... she wasn't too sure about that herself.  
  
Rei stood up and walked calmly to the doorway, "I was   
  
undressing to sleep." She took her shirt off entirely,   
  
stuffing it into the overnight bag which she heaved over   
  
one shoulder.   
  
Shinji's eyes bugged out when he realized that she   
  
was down to just her bra and skirt... and whatever she had   
  
under the skirt... he kept his gaze directly opposite her,   
  
but didn't shut his eyes... Rei didn't really seem to   
  
care... he asked in a strained voice, "Do you have to do   
  
that while you're still here?!"  
  
"You haven't shown me where your room is." She   
  
replied matter-of-factly. Shinji was surprised to hear a   
  
very tiny note of exasperation in her tone.  
  
"Um... it's... er... down the... hall... um...   
  
right... third door on the right... yeah, that's it."   
  
Shinji rattled off with difficulty. He kept his eyes firmly   
  
planted on an uninteresting spot of wall, but his   
  
peripheral vision was pretty good. Rei walked purposefully   
  
towards the doorway once Shinji had completed the   
  
directions.  
  
Asuka ducked into her room quickly to keep Rei from   
  
spotting her. Asuka closed the door as she breathed a sigh   
  
of relief. Interestingly enough, she sighed simultaneously   
  
with Shinji who was pulling on the collar of his shirt and   
  
fanning himself unconsciously...  
  
She'd never affected him like this before. Even from   
  
that distance he was starting to feel something oddly   
  
familiar and not... he was receiving the phantom sensation,   
  
same as before... he took a deep breath and he could almost   
  
swear he could feel her in the air around him. Her   
  
presence. Like a scent... almost exactly like the time he   
  
was in her Eva.   
  
Normally, Shinji would've listened to his walkman   
  
until he would finally allow himself to drift off to   
  
sleep... but he wasn't risking going into his room to look   
  
for it. Certainly not if there was a possibility that Rei's   
  
idea of sleepwear was bare skin, which was entirely   
  
possible...  
  
He settled down on the couch to rest at the precise   
  
moment Rei did the same on his bed, twelve feet away. They   
  
both breathed a heavy sigh as they both turned over to   
  
their left side, each tucking a hand under their heads   
  
before finally drifting off.  
  
Shinji woke up softly to the strains of "Fly me to   
  
The Moon" being sung by Megumi Hayashibara. He blinked his   
  
eyes slowly open... it was still dark... he felt a rather   
  
familiar pressure in one of his ears and there was some   
  
sort of shadowy figure obscuring his vision as he tried to   
  
focus.  
  
"Wha..?" he asked, still dazed from his awakening.  
  
He felt a warm breath of air touch face lightly. A   
  
scent he recognized... "Ayanami?" he whispered.  
  
She moved her face slightly closer to his, her   
  
features becoming clearer as she shifted. She had an   
  
earphone fitted into her left ear and it took him a moment   
  
to realize that the other end of the earphone was in his   
  
right ear. He was aware of her breathing. The movement of   
  
air across his face... the gentle rise and fall of her   
  
chest. Thank goodness she was wearing a shirt at least, he   
  
thought to himself.  
  
She was most definitely not sleepwalking. She was   
  
kneeling to one side of the couch and looking down at him   
  
intently. Her eyes were obscured in part by her hair and by   
  
the shadows, so he couldn't see any more of her expression,   
  
than the fact that she wore an impassive face. She reached   
  
out and gently ran her fingertips across his cheek.  
  
"I thought you would want something to listen to. To   
  
help you sleep." She answered quietly.  
  
"It's my favorite tape... how did you know?" he   
  
asked, trying to mask his nervousness with small talk.  
  
"I just did. It felt right."  
  
"Oh. I... um... I see..." Shinji frantically fished   
  
for something... anything to say to her... "What are you   
  
trying to do?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Rei asked softly, almost as if   
  
she didn't care whether or not she was answered.  
  
"I was already sleeping fine... why the..."  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I do not understand it either. Major Katsuragi   
  
didn't really order me to keep you and Asuka company... she   
  
just mentioned offhand that I could come here if I wanted   
  
to. Which I did."  
  
Shinji gulped nervously.  
  
Rei's hand brushed lightly against Shinji's cheek   
  
again, "I am not asking for anything from you. Just let me   
  
be nearby. I won't do anything. Just let me stay with you."   
  
Her voice was still soft... but the tiny hint of pleading   
  
was almost impossible to ignore.  
  
"Rei, this is so sudden..." Shinji tried to say.  
  
"No, it's not." Rei said, her voice gathering   
  
strength, "When I synchronized with your Eva... I felt you   
  
through it... the pattern of your thoughts that you left in   
  
it was there for me to read... and I know what it's like to   
  
be you..." She paused awkwardly, as though trying to find   
  
the right words. "I've been inside your head... and I know   
  
you experienced the same when you synchronized with my Eva,   
  
even if only for a moment..."  
  
"But... um... I forgot everything that I learned   
  
about you from the synchronization. My mind couldn't handle   
  
them I guess... I told the doctors..."  
  
She smiled at him... warmly. It was a smile he'd only   
  
seen on her twice before in all the time they'd known each   
  
other. "I know... my Eva went berserk. Perhaps you may not   
  
remember them consciously... but you know them. You know   
  
me."  
  
"But I don't..." Shinji protested.  
  
"... just like I know you." She continued, despite   
  
his interruption. "I... I think I know what it's like to   
  
feel... when I felt what you did. I know what you were   
  
thinking when you first looked at me." She touched his   
  
cheek again.  
  
Despite the darkness, Shinji was sure she could see   
  
his face turn red.  
  
"We are probably the two closest human beings on the   
  
planet. We have seen the world through each other's eyes."  
  
"Maybe." Shinji hazarded.  
  
"What do I want now?" Rei asked quietly.  
  
"To lie down and get some sleep." Shinji answered   
  
without thinking.  
  
"Good." Rei said. Shinji, without realizing it, moved   
  
aside allowing Rei to lie down next to him on the narrow   
  
sofa. She dropped a small tube on the end table near the   
  
sofa before laying down.  
  
Rei snuggled quietly up to Shinji's side. The two of   
  
them lying quietly. He didn't understand what was   
  
happening, but he followed what he felt.   
  
"Is this such a good idea?" Shinji asked finally, "I mean   
  
my bed's got more room than this... and Asuka's going to   
  
find us like this tomorrow morning..."  
  
"Just get some sleep. Don't worry about her," she   
  
murmured softly.  
  
Shinji smiled a little as he felt both of them begin   
  
to drift off to sleep... perhaps this wouldn't be so bad.  
  
Rei echoed his smile... Asuka was hardly going to   
  
disturb them. She remembered one of Shinji's memories of   
  
Asuka complaining how Japanese doors didn't have locks and   
  
how little privacy there was in a Japanese home. She was   
  
only too happy to give Asuka the privacy she asked for.  
  
Asuka slept soundly behind her closed door... come   
  
morning, she would no doubt experience a considerable   
  
degree of trouble leaving her room, though. Having your   
  
door epoxied shut could do that.  
  
  
  
End. 


End file.
